Recently Allen West has attracted a strong and loyal following.  He has the courage to speak the truth and stand against the prevailing political winds.  Many of you are already fans of what may be a modern day Patrick Henry.  He has been so effective at stirring up the populace that the powers that be in the Florida Republican Party are working at redistricting him out of his seat in congress so he would no longer be the standard by which they are judged.

Using Lt. Col. West as the standard for judging congress is not really a bad idea, yet there are few who would benefit by the comparison.  So for those of you know about the man already… enjoy.  For those who are not familiar with him… enjoy!

However, when we see that killing unborn babies is socially acceptable and prayer is not… when we see that it is acceptable to our country’s ivory tower elites for people to sneak into our country and take jobs from out of work Americans and inflate our welfare rolls, while those trying to protect our country and culture are condemned as narrow minded racists… one wonders why anyone with any principles would concern themselves with being “socially acceptable”, or “politically correct” as it is known in academic and media circles.

This striving for social acceptance has even infected many churches as they attempt to appeal to those in the outside world. Some have removed cross from their buildings, adopted secular appearing logos and… worst of all, toned down the gospel of truth and grace so as not to offend the outside world.

My own church has taken some heat for a television ad where the pastor makes the proclamation that we won’t blend with society and quietly fit into place. Romans 12:2 tells us “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (NIV). There are just some people who believe that churches, like children in the old saying, should be seen and not heard.

We have permitted society to tell us what ideas are acceptable and which ones are not. We are told some thoughts should not be expressed in polite company. We are told that some people should not be offended… that offending someone is worse than speaking the truth. Unless one is a Muslim, we are told that we should keep our religious practices to ourselves. This should come as no surprise as the Bible tells us that the Gospel is an offense to those who are perishing… and we are afraid of hurting someone’s feelings when there is so much more at stake!

Last September, the Chaplain for the Richmond (VA) Fire Department gave the invocation before the Sprint Cup race. He had the audacity to pray in the name of Jesus, and mentioned Him at least one more time during the prayer. This year at the fall race, a local pastor did the same thing. Had this be done within the hallowed halls of academia or at a progressive political function thunderbolts of anger would have sprung forth from the eyes of the audience while tar and feathers would be prepared for the offender. As it was, the man was in the presence of flag loving, patriotic Americans who understood good things come from the Father, not the government. The earth did not open up and swallow him up and the earth kept on turning.

We can take instruction from this. We do not need to conform to the wishes and expectations of the world around us. In fact, we are told not to conform, but to be transformed. (Romans 12:2) This is particularly true when society is pushing us to in directions that we know are clearly wrong. It becomes, not just an option, but our duty. Glenn Beck tells us to “question with boldness”. When faced with questions of right and wrong, we need to act with boldness as well.

The leftist, liberals, progressives, or whatever we wish to call them, are attempting to shackle us with their false reality and their vision of the world by restricting how we describe this world and express our values. They understand that by controlling terminology, they can control the discourse and the outcome. We have already seen that in playing along with their system, we are trying to gain the blessing of those who will never agree with us or even accept our right to be heard in public. The choice is ours… do we live with their chains, or do we throw them off and pursue truth and justice?

On another occasion, he said, “No one who looks realistically at our world today could think that Christians can afford to go on with business as usual, ignoring the profound crisis of faith which has overtaken our society, or simply trusting that the patrimony of values handed down by the Christian centuries will continue to inspire and shape the future of our society,”

He was correct on both counts. His truth does not only apply to the business in the Catholic church. It applies to the Christian church as a whole. An entire industry made up of lawyers and bureaucrats is dedicated to pushing Christians in to background of irrelevance. In an attempt to be cooperative and non-confrontational, so many good men have backed away from from the role assigned to us in Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” (NIV)

This withdrawal from the battle for the soul of our country… and the soul’s of the population has been accompanied by a confusion of who really is the church and who is the mission field. Many have taken the words of Rick Warren as an addendum to the gospel and fled from teachings and symbols that have long marked the presence and influence of God’s people in the land.

Churches have taken down crosses. They have turned their buildings into little more than conference centers. They have adopted Madison Avenue promotion techniques and ridiculous new logos and symbols that leave the viewer with, at best, a vague idea of what they are and what they stand for.

Much preaching, even among television “evangelists” avoids subjects that might be offensive to non-believers. People may be turned off, stop attending and… stop contributing if they are confronted about such things as sin, abortion, homosexuality and corruption. One well known TV preacher who has fallen on hard times often said he only wanted to talk about God’s goodness and didn’t like to deal with the “sin stuff”.

What these well meaning pastors have done is make the mistake of thinking they have a church, the body of Christ, when in reality, they have a mission field before them that needs the straight message from the scripture. It is not surprising then, that much of the church is ineffective, when much of it not really the church at all, but a body in dire need of the whole gospel of grace and truth.

Our country is falling apart. Babies are looked on as an inconvenience and thrown away. We have corruption at all levels of government and industry and hardly anyone seems to be bothered by it. Then, when people do come to God’s house, they do not hear a message that pricks their conscience – they hear one that makes them feel good about themselves.

The late Christian rocker Larry Norman often told his audiences that he heard many people say reading the Bible makes them feel good. Norman said it made him feel bad… as he realized how far he fell short of living up to God’s plan for him. It is only when we, as individuals feel bad about our shortcomings that we will change our ways. It is only when we, as a nation, recognize how far we have fallen and recognize the need to change our ways.

How can we change our ways as a nation if we don’t learn of the difference between right and wrong and the need to pursue right. Allowing us to continue feeling good about ourselves will just keep us going down the path to destruction.

Patriot preachers in the years leading up to the first American revolution were unashamed to expound on the need for godly, principled leadership and the concept that freedom, like all good things, was the gift from our Creator.

Contrary to the revisionist history coming out of academia, these revolutionaries were, for the most part, Christians who heard the words of the likes of John Witherspoon and John Peter Muhlenberg, and understood the dignity and value our Creator invested in each one of us. It was a dignity and value not to be trampled on by a despotic monarch… or any heavy handed, dictatorial government for that matter.

In the late 1700s, powerful preachers led the way to liberty. It can happen again.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed — a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” (Romans 1:16-17 NIV)

We have gotten ourselves in the mess we are in because we have strayed from the Biblical principles and values that led us to greatness. It is only by returning to these values we can survive as a free society. How, then, can we return to these values unless we have courageous pastors to preach the unapologetic word? The side effect of the revival that will save our country is that there will be far fewer of our friends and neighbors regretting their eternal destination. Isn’t that the point of preaching in the first place?

On one hand, this idea of forcing any organization taking federal funds to hire anyone regardless of compatibility with the charities beliefs and values could be looked at as just another waste of government (read taxpayer) money or an attempt to diminish their ability to spread the Christian values. Beyond hiring even, several womens’ centers have had their funding withheld for the crime of including the wisdom of the Bible in their program The thing they don’t comprehend about these rules is that it is these distinctions and people that define many faith based ministries and that make them effective. Or, perhaps they do. It shows a lack of understanding or concern that it is the faith element that keeps prisoners from returning to prison and lets welfare mothers pull their families and their lives together.

The financial cost of this kind of decision to make faith based programs as ineffective as regular government programs means more money is just swirling down the drain with the rest of the “stimulus” money and paying for other ineffective efforts to solve problems that are really spiritual in nature. On the other hand, the human cost is even greater. The human tragedy of a prisoner returning to jail, not to mention the trail of injury and heartache he leaves in his wake on the way back is something we just cannot tolerate if it is at all avoidable. The damage to the lives of children caused by failed programs to help single mothers and abused women is beyond calculation.

In view of organizations like Prison Fellowship and Teen Challenge, one must wonder what the objective of this administration is… could it be greater dependence on and support for an administration that believes it should be the center of American life? Could it be the reduction of an influence deemed to be dangerous to their desired messianic worship? An attack on religious (read Christian) values would seem to be simply a continuation policies we have seen from our government for many years… an attack that accelerates under progressive Democratic rule?

Half the answer is for faith based groups to refuse federal funds, which is really the only answer for those who understand the power of the Word. This helps remove some of the employment hold of Washington. It does not give access to those in need, however. Not being suitably secular, we probably would see precious few such organizations remaining on the job. Who knows… somebody might find a Savior and turn from their wicked ways! Who knows… we might even see less crime… fewer victims… fewer broken homes and lives.

This is just one of the challenges we face in our land. These are the kind of challenges that don’t go away by themselves and don’t fall to half-hearted efforts. Now is the time to speak up, raise a ruckus, spread the word and pray! Those who live for redistribution and dependence on the government are reliving the hippie protest days of the sixties. We cannot let theirs be the only voices in the argument. If we don’t get busy… they win… we loose… and we loose our country.

From the viewpoint of Legal History…

The time may be ripe being that Chief Justice Roberts clerked for Chief Justice Rehnquist, and this Rehnquist DISSENT in Bigelow v. Virginia case (heard 18 December a.d. 1974, decision 15 June a.d. 1975) involves the state protecting its Citizens from adverse health “services” available in another state. Rehnquist wrote:

The result is the fashioning of a doctrine which appears designed to obtain reversal of this judgment,

Remember that in the movie “Amazing Grace” after years of failure at the “direct approach” of outlawing Slavery in the British Empire, as suggested by a young man NOT involved in the years of unsuccessful legislative efforts, Wilberforce obtained an inroad against Slave Traders by a “flanking attack”, passing a law that Slave Ships had to meed certain health and safety requirements.

After a warning or two, the British Navy could seize the slave ship, which the Navy did, and that put a huge hole in the profitability of the Slave Trade. That then led to the banning of Slavery, after the Slave Traders income was reduced by legislative attack.

The Bigelow decision addresses tangentially the “profitability” and the commercial aspects of Aborticide services. There may be a connection with the issue of “Federally Mandated Health Care” (Obama’Scare, a scary program as contrasted with the more main stream media label of “Obama Care”), originating in another state, or directed from DC, and indeed, even the very premise of the 14th Amendment extension of Roe and Doe to overrule State laws outlawing Aborticide services. Read Rehnquist’s short DISSENT (below) to understand there was a VERY slim legal logic or legal history for the majority opinion in Bigelow v. Virginia.

Given the “evolving standards” of banning advertisement in the Tobacco Settlements of the 1990s, provided now are additional reasons for this issue being “ripe” for plucking by a well designed action plan and well crafted legal argument.

Reading the opinion and the dissent, but NOT the transcripts of the Virginia Attorney Generals assistant before the U.S. supreme Court, there are sad indicators of a weak and poorly crafted argument.

There seemed to be “confusion” as what position that Virginia would assert because of the Roe and Doe decisions that the U.S. supreme Court had recently issued.

The Transcripts of the Oral Arguments would affirm or refute that “reading between the line” discernment.

Now is the time to plan a careful strategy, and craft a well-reasoned and thorough legal argument by the Virginia Attorney General, with others, to “reverse Bigelow v. Virginia” as Rehnquist suggested was possible in his Dissent of 36 years ago.

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their countrymen, even those still in the womb… Heroic in American History are the “Abolitionists” for “Abolishing Slavery”, so to the Abolishing of the Mental Slavery of Killing a Child in the womb.

Yes, while the Children of Israel were 40 years in the wilderness, after 38 years (2011-1973) in the “Wilderness of Roe and Doe and Bigelow”, now is the time for a Rallying Cry of “Abolish Abortion” – For Equal Justice for All (born and unborn).

Refugees from the sixties protests have taken shelter in the academic world where they have done their best to complete the job they began fifty some years ago. In that time our real heroes have been rendered irrelevant and leaders of the their attempted revolution have been revered. The morality of the day is, in reality, no morality at all as their actions are guided not so much by doing that which feels good, as they tell us, but to show that they are free from old fashioned restraints that have been honored for centuries.

In their efforts to demonstrate their rejection of Christianity, many modern day “free thinkers” have embraced most everything else. They have even gone so far as to praise the introduction of Islam and it’s sharia law as being a welcome addition to our society. If they really looked into what they were supporting, the homosexuals among them would be unhappy with their fate in Muslim societies. Being thrown from high building tends to shorten one’s life expectancy. Those addicted to alcohol, drugs or sex, would likewise find themselves in a sad situation with these newcomers in control.

British writer and apologist G.K. Chesterton, witnessed this trend when he wrote, “There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for all religions.” The acceptance of all religions except the one that actually works is an ironic hypocrisy that somehow escapes the intelligentsia as they look down from it’s ivory tower perch on us poor uneducated masses.

Chesterton has also told us that “Men do not differ much about what things they will call evils; they differ enormously about what evils they will call excusable.” While we might find it hard to believe, but there is a lot of truth to this statement. Many of the greatest pro-abortion politicians will tell us that they agree there are too many abortions, but they say to restrict them would be an injustice to these same poor uneducated masses that cannot control themselves. Many homosexuals don’t want to live their lifestyles but they tell us they are born with their sexual preferences – preferences they can’t change and preferences they are not responsible for. Therefore, they cannot be wrong!

We are living in a time similar to that described in the book of Judges, “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” (21:25 KJV) These are the values of today, everyone believes they can be their own judge of right and wrong. They criticize the church for not changing with the times. Actually some churches have changed with the time and those that have are looked on with favor by those who reject the gospel, but are willing to accept a social organization.

Churches such as this, that are to the salt of the earth are described as “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.” (Luke 14:34-35 NIV) They are accepted, but they are useless.

The unchanging God that tells us how to, not only obtain salvation, but to live in this world. We can change, forgetting the points of Christianity that others find troublesome. The secular progressives of the world would love that… they would have won and short circuited the message of the gospel. Or we could just sit down quietly and stay behind the church doors. This would also make the ruling elites happy as we would not be bothering them with godly morality and wisdom. Or… the church can, once again, become the beacon of light and hope that is was designed to be from the beginning. Our God did not change. If the church is not pursuing this path… which one has changed? Again Chesterton understood, “We do not want, as the newspapers say, a church that will move with the world. We want a church that will move the world.” We have the answers to all of life’s problems and our country’s ills, yet for too many do nothing to share these answers.

Looking at the world around us, how many of our problems would simply vanish, or at least be greatly diminished if the fallacies of liberal humanist were to be addressed and the truth be known? Poverty, broken families, crime – they are all related to a rejection of the Creator and His Word. To those who wish to excuse their unbelief because of imperfections in the Christians they have known, Chesterton had an answer for that as well, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.”

[Revisionist historians would have us believe that our founders were irreligious or, at best deists, who did not believe in a personal God involved in every area of our lives. Instead taking the word of ivory tower academics, let's look at the words of one our most courageous founders.]

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
By His EXCELLENCY
John Hancock, Esq.
GOVERNOR of the COMMONWEALTH
of Massachusetts.

A PROCLAMATION,
For a Day of Public Thanksgiving.

In consideration of the many undeserved Blessings conferred upon us by GOD, the Father of all Mercies; it becomes us no only in our private and usual devotion, to express our obligations to Him, as well as our dependence upon Him; but also specially to set a part a Day to be employed for this great and important Purpose:

I HAVE therefore thought fit to appoint, and by the advice and consent of the Council, do hereby accordingly appoint, THURSDAY, the seventeenth of November next, to be observed as a Day of Public THANKSGIVING and PRAISE, throughout this Commonwealth:—Hereby calling upon Ministers and People of every denomination, to assemble on the said Day—and in the name of the Great Mediator, devoutly and sincerely offer to Almighty God, the gratitude of our Hearts, for all his goodness towards us; more especially in that HE has been pleased to continue to us so a great a measure of Health—to cause the Earth plentifully to yield her increase, so that we are supplied with the Necessaries, and the Comforts of Life—to prosper our Merchandise and Fishery—And above all, not only to continue to us the enjoyment of our civil Rights and Liberties; but the great and most important Blessing, the Gospel of Jesus Christ:

And together with our cordial acknowledgments, I do earnestly recommend, that we may join the penitent confession of our Sins, and implore the further continuance of the Divine Protection, and Blessings of Heaven upon this People; especially that He would be graciously pleased to direct, and prosper the Administration of the Federal Government, and of this, and the other States in the Union—to afford Him further Smiles on our Agriculture and Fisheries, Commerce and Manufactures—To prosper our University and all Seminaries of Learning—To bless the virtuously struggling for the Rights of Men—so that universal Happiness may be Allies of the United States, and to afford his Almighty Aid to all People, who are established in the World; that all may bow to the Scepter of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, and the whole Earth be filled with his Glory.

And I do also earnestly recommend to the good People of this Commonwealth, to abstain from all servile Labor and Recreation, inconsistent with the solemnity of the said day.

Given at the Council-Chamber, in Boston, the fifth Day of October, in the Year of our Lord, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-One, and in the sixteenth Year of the Independence of the United States of America.

JOHN HANCOCK.
By his Excellency’s Command,
JOHN AVERY, jun. Sec’y
GOD save the Commonwealth of MASSACHUSETTS!!

No one takes on a public policy stance without some firmly held belief, some foundational principle or worldview which they embrace, and from which they reason.

What has been happening in our society for decades is a titanic battle between two powerful, competing worldviews.

Unfortunately, one of those worldviews has had the advantage of pretending to be a ‘reasonable’ belief that is ‘free from religion,’ and which has gained access to your tax dollars. We have been financing a takeover by a Christianity-replacing faith. The new PC faith, the belief system of true-believing liberals, is actually a thoroughly developed, reasonable-sounding worldview. It is self-identified as a “Bold new faith” which must be “Established” in “All mankind’s institutions and associations,” in Humanist Manifesto I.

And in Manifesto II we find the ultimate goal: “World Community TWELFTH: We deplore the division of humankind on nationalistic grounds. We have reached a turning point in human history where the best option is to transcend the limits of national sovereignty and to move toward the building of a world community in which all sectors of the human family can participate. Thus we look to the development of a system of world law and a world order based upon transnational federal government. This would appreciate cultural pluralism and diversity.”

Many citizens see the symptoms and the effects, but most people do not realize that there is a battle of major cultural significance, an all-out tug-of-war of ethics and ideology, happening in America.

This is how the new secular/progressive ‘faithful’ are organized and how they behave:

The ACLU are the legal enforcers of the new faith (Obedience), brandishing their flaming secular legal sword at any slightest whiff of Christianity that dares to pop up anywhere in public life.

The ACLU has been very visible and vocal in public policy struggles, though most citizens are mystified by the motives and strange positions taken by this so-called defender of ‘rights.’ The ACLU goes to court to enforce ’separation of church and state’ found, NOT in America’s Constitution, but found in the Humanist Manifestos and the old, failed Soviet Constitution, Article 52:

“The church shall be separate from the state, and the schools from the church.”

It is ironic, insulting and tragic that we finance a school system that enforces this Soviet version of our ‘rights.’

The ACLU and Humanism are philosophically and historically tied together.

Roger Baldwin, ACLU founder, stated categorically: “Communism is the goal!” He refused for the rest of his life to modify or retract this statement.

“In later years Baldwin occasionally wrote for The Humanist. On one occasion he reviewed a book for The Humanist by Corliss Lamont whose credentials as a Humanist include being named “Humanist of the Year” for 1977, being signatory to Humanist Manifesto II, and serving as honorary president of the AHA. Baldwin gave this evaluation of Lamont’s book: “It reads like an expanded annual report of the Civil Liberties Bureau.”(6) In addition to Lamont’s Humanist affiliations, he also sat on the ACLU board for many years, thus further demonstrating the compatibility of Humanism and the ACLU. (Eventually, Lamont did reject the ACLU because of its stand against communism.) Baldwin served as Director of the ACLU until 1949, but thereafter continued to influence the Union as a member of the National Advisory Council.” Read about it here.

‘Gay rights’ activists are the shock troops (Onward, true-believing soldiers), the politically astute, PC Inquisitors, the aggressive vanguard of the Humanists. Dare to question their ‘Diversity!’ mantra and you will face rage and possible lawsuits.

Environmental extremists are the preening, ‘righteousness’ arm of the Humanists, ’saving the planet’ (Salvation) whether you want their messianic ministry and their Big Brother garbage-monitoring e-chips forced on you or not.  Insisting that we leave our own vast natural gas, coal and oil resources in the ground, so we can become third-world beggars like the rest of the ‘world community.’ And killing our economy as we enrich our enemies.

The ‘Choice’ crowd makes certain that the blood of innocent unborn children (Rituals) is offered up to their cause. Their noble efforts are not to be questioned, and regarding their ghoulish practices…just do not think about the 50 Million babies butchered so far.

Liberal politicians enforce charitable ‘tithing’ (Sacrificial giving) through confiscatory taxation, scolding about ‘fairness’ and equitable ‘redistribution’ of wealth and resources, then use the money to advance Humanist principles and grow their influence through tyrannical public policies.

Taxpayer-financed education – K-12 and university – provide training in the correct manner of thinking and behaving (Sunday School 5 days per week, and Missionary outreach), constantly demonstrating or subtly hinting that Christianity is primitive, dangerous, irrelevant or ‘harmful,’ and sanitizing any last vestige of a Christian heritage from our society, and teaching students to earnestly – erroneously – chant that “America was founded on freedom from religion!”

Teachers Unions – from the N.E.A. and down through outspoken activists in their state and local unions – and ‘International Unions’ are the fraternal organizations (Faith-based organizations) associated with the Religious Left, they give votes, money and activist shoe leather to the Humanist movement. They are also the most powerful, influential lobbyists in D.C. and your state Legislature, making all kinds of legislation, not just education, their business. Politicians are ordinarily afraid to defy them. That is one of the reasons for their vitriol and outrage against Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin.

“I am convinced that the battle for humankind’s future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers that correctly perceive their role as proselytizers of a new faith: a religion of humanity that recognizes and respects the spark of what theologians call divinity in every human being… The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and new — the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with all its adjacent evils and misery, and the new faith of humanism, resplendent with the promise of a world in which the never-realized Christian ideal of ‘love thy neighbor’ will finally be achieved.” — “A Religion For A New Age,” The Humanist magazine, January-February 1983 [Volume 43, Number 1]

For any who remain skeptical about the influence of Humanism on education, just plug in the terms Life Long Learning, a comma, and Humanism into Google. You will get a tremendous amount of documentation that will demonstrate just how fully saturated with this new belief system all branches of education – and the training of educators – really are.

The dominant media culture – and entertainment media – are the high priests of the faith (Evangelism), always attacking the ‘Religious Right,’ but never once doing an expose’ on the ‘Religious Left.’ Have you ever seen a ‘news’ program about the Religious Left?

Gatherings of Humanist-indoctrinated faithful (Worship services), usually involve someone quoting disjointed poetry about someone’s village and someone elses’ children, or chanting protests and Humanist mantras. They can include inspiring music by special guests, and ghastly spectacles such as those screaming, chanting crowds, wearing theme T-shirts at the memorial services of innocent people gunned down in Arizona.

The gathering at the Capitol Mall in Wisconsin, complete with the Communist Party marching in solidarity with teachers unions and ‘international unions,’ along with Barack Hussein Obama’s own campaign organization (Organizing For America), are also participating in a noisy worship service. Their self-righteousness is on full display. Not much decorum or solemn assembly at such services? Well, it is after all, a different kind of faith.

The father of our country, George Washington, understood “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His mercy, to implore His protection and favor… That great and beneficent author of all good that was, that is, or ever shall be, that we may then unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people.” He was not alone.

I can just hear the “fiscal conservatives” scream bloody murder almost as loudly as the atheist progressives now running the country and our lives. Many think all we have to do get our financial situation in order and things will be just fine. It is, unfortunately, not too surprising with the way the educational system has become a materialistic indoctrination operation and our courts have done their best to remove understanding of the Christian bent of most of our founders from the public knowledge. They believe this does no harm. They actually believe there is a real benefit to removing religion, especially Christianity from the public sphere. Then, they also think we can fix the problems ourselves… or really, themselves.

Over the years since prayer and Bible reading has been removed from the public schools, violent crime has skyrocketed, as has teen pregnancy and dependency on the government that is only to happy to feed the addiction to taxpayer funds.

Charles Carroll, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence from Maryland, commented, “Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and pure…are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments.”

The book of Jeremiah tells the story of his attempts to convince the kingdom of Judah to turn back to God and reject the false gods they were following. False prophets tickled the peoples ears with stories that every thing would be fine, that they had nothing to worry about. The false prophets were wrong and King Nebuchadnezzar carried them off to Babylon. They did not turn back to their roots and they paid the price. We do not have to be carried off anywhere. Our country is being turned in to a socialistic nightmare all around us.

Benjamin Franklin asked “If men are so wicked with religion, what would they be if without it?” We are finding out. Yet, it’s not just religion. Patrick Henry clears this up, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ! For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”

Jefferson added, “No nation has ever existed or been governed without religion. Nor can be. The Christian religion is the best religion that has been given to man and I, as Chief Magistrate of this nation, am bound to give it the sanction of my example.”

So, does this mean we have convert everyone? No, emphatically no! While this may be desirable, we must spread the word and do the best to get the job done. It cannot be done on a corporate level. Purveyors of the so-called gospel of social justice, including the man in the White House, believe in corporate salvation, but that is not the way it works. Each one becomes a follower of Christ as the result of an individual decision. It cannot be forced as Constantine tried to do. Besides, a proper interpretation of our First Amendment prevents any attempt at creating a national religion – although many are working on proclaiming atheistic humanism as our state religion… with not a peep out of the ACLU.

What we can do is make every effort to stop our nation from becoming more of a stench in the nostrils of our creator who gave us “unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. A few of the things we are doing include turning our back on the apple of God’s eye, Israel, we are permitting the destruction of millions of unborn infants, we are embracing the abomination of homosexual relationships… and that is just the beginning.

Proverbs 14:34 tells us “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.” On one hand we have so much going on that just wouldn’t fly with our founders – even the least religious. On the other hand, our world is falling apart around us. It doesn’t take a genius to make the connection. There are those who do not wish us well, that are encouraging us as we travel down this road to destruction… unfortunately some of them are in positions of leadership.

So can we fix the country by fixing everyone around us. That sounds appealing, but that would put us in the same position as Barack Hussein Obama who invariably blames all his failings on everyone from George W Bush, his lap dog media or even the citizens who are just too stupid to know how right this leftist really are.

We, as Christians, need to fix ourselves first. II Chronicles 7:14 says, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Until we clean up our own acts – not looking for short cuts or special advantages for ourselves and turning a blind eye toward other forms of government giveaways that may benefit us at the expense of our neighbors – and tolerating the intolerable, we cannot expect our country to return to its days of glory when we led the world economically, militarily and morally.

As Dr. Phil would ask, “How’s that working out for you?” The last I checked, young lives are still being destroyed, and members of the medical profession, those who have sworn to do no harm, are making a nice living doing it. Obviously this approach has not gotten the job done.

For those who have carried the battle to the enemy consistently over the years, congratulations, but as you are painfully aware, the job is not done. You’ve seen people get excited about the struggle and join in for a few days to a few weeks, but then they disappear like the morning mist… and the job is not done.

If we really want to get the job done, we may want to study the lessons from fifty years ago when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led is followers against the evil of prejudice and hatred. His struggle took years, sent some to jail, cost some their lives – including the good pastor himself.

It was a protracted conflict that required sacrifices. It was not a weekend effort. It was not a cause that you could just write a check and feel you did your part. How were the opponents of equality for our black brothers defeated? How will those who believe it is a woman’s right to kill her offspring be sent packing to the land of political irrelevancy?

Those looking to break down racial barriers marched. They sat in at restaurants that refused to serve them. They were hauled off to jail and beaten by police and angry klansmen. They endured all sorts of pain and indignities… and they did this for years. They were dedicated to their cause and their actions proved it – to themselves, the country and to their God.

Occasionally we’ll hear about a pastor or priest being arrested outside an abortion mill, and that’s about it. So many profess in polls and occasionally in speech to be appalled by the practice of killing babies in their mother’s womb, but how much are we really disturbed by the practice. Is Dancing With The Stars or American Idol more important than saving a child’s life? Let’s not answer with words, they can be so deceiving, both to ourselves and to others. Let’s answer with action.

Dr. King’s niece, Alveda King, whose own father was killed for his work in the civil rights movement, is the national spokesperson for the Silent No More Awareness campaign. She has written:

Oh, God, what would Martin Luther King, Jr., who dreamed of having his children judged by the content of their characters do if he’d lived to see the contents of thousands of children’s skulls emptied into the bottomless caverns of the abortionists pits?

She understands it’s a new fight for a new day. She understands Matthew 25:40 that says, “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” And you can’t be much less important than to be a member of a class that people routinely throw away.

Many think that we are doing all we can to do stop this awful practice. There are laws that prevent us from doing more. There are laws about what can be done outside “clinics” and that keep us from coming inside. There are privacy laws, there are trespassing laws – but precious few laws that protect the unborn children. We follow them to be good citizens. It’s like sixties radical Abbie Hoffman said, “Respect for authority will be the downfall of democracy.”

Acts 4 tells the story of Peter and John being called before the Sanhedrin for healing a lame man and causing a stir in Jerusalem. After questioning the two, the baffled leaders discussed among themselves what would be the best way to put a stop to this teaching.

Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old. (v 18-22 NIV)

“Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges!” Which is right for us, to let the children die, or do everything we can to stop it? A little further down the page we see how the apostles responded. They did not pray for protection from the evil Sanhedrin.

Verse 29 tells us they prayed, “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.” They asked for boldness to do the right thing. We need boldness to do the right thing.

Dr. King’s followers endured indignities, beatings and death. What have we endured? Not much in most cases. How many of us have been thrown out of clinics or arrested for trespassing. How many of us have spent even an hour outside an abortion mill, praying for those inside? How many of us have offered to help with in unexpected pregnancy by taking in a woman thrown out of her home? Have we done anything to encourage adoption of an unwanted child?

There is much that can be done. Prayer is important, but, with the economy taking center stage at the moment, many politicians are backing away from social issues – so the job is falling to us to put feet to our prayers. James 2 puts all this into perspective:

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. (v 14-18 NIV)

Or as the King James version we memorized as kids said, “faith without works is dead.”